


The Billionaire and the Bandit

by TwoBoys2Love



Series: JA Ranch [1]
Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-22
Updated: 2018-11-22
Packaged: 2019-08-27 10:10:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 20,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16700506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TwoBoys2Love/pseuds/TwoBoys2Love
Summary: Jensen Ackles is a wealthy rancher who deals in race horses. When some of his horses go missing, he sets up a trap to catch the thieves. He catches...Jared Padalecki. Jared has a very low opinion of Jensen but agrees to work off his debt on the ranch.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the j2_reversebang and based on art by missyswife37 I had intended this to be a complete fic and it does stand alone. But! I have discussed it with the artist and will be writing a sequel to tell the tale of what happens between the Js! It felt too rushed to put into this work.
> 
> Thank you so much to Masja17 for the beta work!!! :D

Jensen adjusted his Stetson as he stepped out into the scorching Texas heat. The sun was so bright that he squinted as he looked over towards his pickup.

There was a stylized _JA Ranches_ on the door. Most people would recognize that as Jensen Ackles Ranching.

Wiping the sweat from his brow, Jensen repositioned his Stetson, pulled his keys out of his jacket pocket and unlocked his truck. He climbed in, started the truck then made sure the AC was blowing towards his face.

It was hot and humid and there was a storm on the way. There were bulbous, dark clouds hunkered down on the horizon.

Jensen surveyed the parking lot and the office building behind him. He had never wanted an office but running a business the size of J.A. Ranching required more time than Jensen had. When he'd begun working with Danneel Harris, he'd known immediately that she was the person to take care of the _paper_ side of things. She said they needed an office building. Jensen bought her an office building.

Jensen knew his business inside and out, it was his life. From the time he was old enough to ride, he'd begun trailing along behind his father. He was a sponge, absorbing every morsel of knowledge he could scrounge. As Jensen watched, he learned how _not_ to run a business.

It took time for Jensen to build his own empire. He worked hard as hell. Literal blood, sweat and tears went into his first million and he was proud of it.

The sad thing was that he didn't consider himself a success until he was able to buy his father's business out from under him. It had long been one of his goals; it was satisfying.

Now. Jensen was one of the wealthiest men in Texas. J.A. Ranches had three of the top four Sires on the Texas year-end Sire list. Six of their Sires had run the track in 2018. _Remarkable Dream_ had sired over 50 winning horses. They'd begun breeding Arabians at the beginning of the year, a new world for them to conquer. And the list of successes went on.

Sometimes, even Jensen had moments when he couldn't believe how far he had come.

Jensen sighed, put the truck in gear and headed out on the highway. He'd only come in to sign some cheques and a couple of contracts. What he wanted to do was get back to the ranch quickly so that he could sort out the most recent problem on the radar.

Rustlers had hit J.A. Ranches. Yeah, they existed. Yeah, horses were still stolen. It was just that it didn't usually happen to Jensen and he was getting pretty angry.

He'd lost two Stallions in as many months and no one had witnessed a thing. Both horses had gone missing from the main ranch. Jensen lived there full time, as did his ranch manager, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and the head ranch hand, Matt Cohen. Those two men supervised twenty other ranch hands, and no one had seen a damned thing. It should be damned near impossible. Clearly, it wasn't.

Jensen sped down the highway, turned off onto the road to the ranch and felt himself relax. He grabbed the brim of the Stetson and tossed it on the seat beside him. He rubbed his hand over his hair and leaned back in his seat. As soon as he was back at the Ranch, he was going to get to the bottom of the missing Stallion situation.

-=-=-=-

"What do you mean, there are no tracks?" Frowning, Jensen pushed the brim of his hat up and crouched down to look at the red dirt in front of the paddock gate.

Jeff was right, there were no tire tracks at all.

Jensen stood and rubbed his forehead. "What the fuck J.D.?"

Jeff shrugged and planted his hands on his hips. "I couldn't even fuckin' get a bridle on the last one. He was ornery as hell. Had to lasso him and took two of us to get him in this paddock."

"So, who's stealin' horses from us? A god damned magician? Dr. Dolittle?" It was pretty messed up. J.D. was a damn good horseman. If there was a horse he couldn't break, then Jensen couldn’t see how someone else could just walk it out of the gate, let alone ride it.

"Too many tracks to tell which way it headed?"

"I'd have to guess."

"G'on then."

"Up the damned road."

Jensen was beginning to get really pissed off. "Let me get this straight. You put a horse in here that was damn near impossible to handle, then someone waltzed in here and led him out?"

"Almost." Jeff muttered. He rubbed at the salt and pepper stubble on his chin and winced as he looked at Jensen.

"What?" Jensen tugged his sweat-soaked t-shirt out of his jeans and tried not to glare at Jeff. It wasn't his friend's fault.

"Don't get pissed off but I think someone rode him out." Jeff kept his gaze locked on Jensen like he was watching a wild animal.

Jensen pressed his thumb and forefinger against his eyelids for a few moments and forced himself to take a deep breath. "I don't believe you."

"There's no footprints heading out only in."

"What horse was in here again?" Jensen was frowning so hard his head was beginning to ache.

"Never Encumbered."

"Sired by Never Surrender?"

"Yup."

Jensen looked around as though he was expecting clues to suddenly appear. "This is fucked."

"It sure as hell is."

"What did the Sheriff say?"

J.D. folded his arms across his chest and furrows appeared in his brow. "You know Beaver. He said it's clearly not a big operation. He doesn't have enough manpower to worry about one horse. He suggested that we _beef up_ our security."

"Asshole," Jensen said. "Beaver, not you."

J.D. just nodded. One of the reasons he and Jensen were friends was J.D.'s unflinching ability to remain unruffled by Jensen's temper.

Jensen had a temper. He figured that he had inherited it from his father. He chose to channel his temper into swearing, yelling and being ornery in general. After the way he'd been brought up, he'd never raise a hand to another human being.

"What now, Jensen?"

"I'm gonna catch the bastards." Jensen tugged the brim of his hat down and nodded.

-=-=-=-

It took Jensen and Jeff and four other ranch hands to move _Appropriate Wishes_ from the closest barn to the paddock from which the last stallion had been liberated.

Jensen had purchased the stallion for $975,000. It was a high price for a yearling who wasn't broken. Jensen had a good feeling about him. But, he'd been wrong. He had _really_ wanted the stallion for himself, but it didn't look as though that would work out.

The horse had reared, bucked, and pulled. He'd stood his ground. He'd snorted and tossed his mane. Jeff had gotten a bad rope burn on his hands, one ranch hand had been knocked on his ass and Jensen had been thrown down on his back so hard it had knocked the wind right out of him. Jeff had elbowed Jensen in the jaw. Matt's teeth had somehow, connected with Jeff's hand and the horse? Well, he was absolutely fine.

Jensen had called a locksmith he knew and had the guy come out and fix up an automatic lock on the paddock gate.

Everything was ready by dinnertime and Jensen had snatched a bit of sleep before heading out to stand guard.

He set up in the back of his truck, off to the side of the paddock. There was a huge Spanish Oak tree that Jensen hoped would make the truck look a little more inconspicuous.

He had a blanket to sit on, a thermos of coffee, ice for his jaw and his Ruger was loaded and locked. He wasn't sitting out waiting for horse thieves without his rifle. He adjusted his Carhartt jacket and zipped it up. He figured he was in for a long night… and it would probably be completely uneventful.

-=-=-=-

At about 3 am, Jensen felt adrenaline burst into his veins. At first, it was just instinct. He wasn't sure if he'd heard something or seen something move in the shadows.

Slowly and silently, Jensen got up on one knee, levelled his rifle and waited.

Storm Cloud snorted and pawed at the dry earth in the paddock. Even in the light from the crescent moon, Jensen could see little puffs of dust each time a hoof hit the ground.

There was a creak and Jensen's vision zeroed in on the gate. A tall figure, dressed all in black, slipped into the paddock and closed the gate behind him.

Eyebrows raising slightly, Jensen watched. He couldn't help being curious; it was his nature.

The figure moved towards Storm Cloud and they faced off for a few, tense moments. The horse continued to paw at the ground, reared up slightly and snorted once more.

The figure remained motionless for a while, and Jensen realized he could hear the person speaking. The voice was too low for him to make out any words, but sound carried a long way at night.

Storm Cloud tossed his head, took a step forward and knickered.

Jensen had never seen anything like it. He considered himself to be pretty damn good with horses, but he hadn't been able to get anywhere near Storm Cloud.

Finally, the figure moved forward, arms held away from his slender hips. It was definitely a man. The guy was probably well over six feet, broad shouldered and had shoulder length hair.

He moved in closer to Storm Cloud and the horse tossed his head again. He turned slightly as though he was going to bolt from the stranger and then he stilled and lowered his head.

Jensen's arm was beginning to ache, and he shifted as slowly as he could. He wasn't going to take his eyes off the interaction in the paddock.

The man stepped closer again, his head bowed down slightly. He was still speaking. It was so soft that the wind just carried a sound every so often.

The horse knickered and pushed at the man's shoulder with his nose. Jensen was _sure_ he heard the man laughing and the sound irritated the hell out of him. The guy had to have drugged the horse, but that made no sense. Maybe he knew Storm Cloud from the time before Jensen owned him. But, that didn't make sense either because the other missing horses had come from different ranches.

The man reached up and moved his hand slowly along the horse's cheek, down his neck to his withers. Then his back was to Jensen and his movements were hidden.

Jensen had no idea what was going on, but Storm Cloud didn't seem to mind. The huge horse knickered softly and nosed at the man's chest.

The strange communication between the stranger and the horse continued for a while. As Jensen watched, he occasionally glanced around the paddock on the lookout for accomplices. But, there were none. The horse thief was by himself. And he was making progress.

Storm Cloud shook his head from side to side and knickered. The man stepped back, waited patiently and then the horse stepped forward.

Jensen's eyes widened in disbelief. He'd lost track of how long he'd been watching but there was no way that a stranger should have been able to make that kind of progress so quickly.

If it weren't for the fact that it was the middle of the night on his own ranch, Jensen would think that he was watching a man bonding with his own horse.

All the man's movements were smooth and slow. His hands eventually began to move along Storm Cloud's neck and shoulder. He smoothed his palm along the horse's hair like he would if he were brushing him. All the while, the stallion stood still, occasionally pressing his nose to the stranger's chest or shoulder.

As the man's right hand gently patted the horse's back, he moved his left hand until he could get a grip on the horse's mane. He stepped back with his right leg, continuing to speak softly. Then in a display of strength and grace, the man swung his right leg up over Storm Cloud's back as he jumped. Just as easy as that, he slid up.

Storm Cloud was over sixteen hands and the thief made it look easy to mount him.

 _I'll be damned,_ Jensen thought as he continued to watch.

For a while, the thief leaned forward, his long arms circled around Storm Cloud's neck. The stallion walked forward and back, small steps with no real sense of urgency. He didn't seem bothered at all by the man on his back. It was as though he'd been ridden bareback a thousand times.

The thief sat up straight, one hand still fisted around a clump of mane then very slowly and deliberately he let go. His hands were just resting on the horse's withers. He shifted a bit closer to the stallion's shoulders.

Storm Cloud paced forward a few steps, stopped, dragged his hoof over the dirt a couple of times, then knickered softly.

The thief urged the stallion forwards and he began a slow walk around the paddock. The rider kept his hands loose, forearms resting on his thighs. He sat up straight, only shifting his body slightly to turn them. Years of experience were reflected in the way the thief was riding. Almost all his communication with Storm Cloud was originating from his hips and legs.

"I'll be damned," Jensen murmured under his breath. He'd never seen anything quite like it. But, as much as he wanted to sit there and watch, Jensen knew it was only a matter of time before the thief turned the horse back towards the gate.

Silently, Jensen stood. He held the rifle with his right hand and pulled the control for the truck bed lights out of his pocket. In one smooth movement, Jensen activated the lights, dropped the controller, and aimed his Ruger at the thief's chest.

As the high intensity light flooded the paddock, Storm Cloud reared. The thief grasped his mane and patted the horse's neck.

"Get down offa my horse before I shoot ya off," Jensen yelled.

The thief raised his hands and the horse stopped. "Don't shoot. He'll spook and hurt himself," the man said just loud enough for Jensen to hear.

"Get. Off. My. Horse," Jensen said. He walked forward to the tailgate, held the rifle with one hand so he could pull out his phone and message J.D. He'd be there in less than a minute.

Jensen could see the thief still mounted. "You've got three seconds to get off my horse." He didn't bother adding an _or else_. He felt it was pretty clear what his intentions were.

The thief swung his right leg over the horse's haunches and slid down until he landed back on the ground.

"Turn around and face me. Hands where I can see 'em."

The thief did as he was told and as soon as Jensen heard J.D. making his way around to the paddock gate, he jumped down off the tailgate. The whole time, he kept his rifle trained on the thief's chest.

"I haven't done anything," the thief protested quietly.

"Very least? You're trespassing on private property. If I get my way? It'll be felony trespassing with intent to steal. You can get up to six months and a $10,000 fine for that."

"Don't be an asshole," the thief murmured.

Jensen shook his head as he saw J.D. appear at the gate. "Not the right thing to say if you want to get on my good side.” Jensen turned the lights down and nodded at J.D.

"My partner here is gonna come through that gate and apprehend you. You as much as twitch a muscle and you're goin' down. Clear?"

The man was silent for a few moments and Jensen figured he was probably weighing his options. He was tall, strong, looked young. But J.D. and Jensen were both from strong Texan stock. They could take him easily.

J.D. hopped over the paddock fence, rope looped through one hand. As he approached the thief, Storm Cloud began to paw at the ground again. He snorted and shook his head, mane flying wildly.

"J.D.? You let me know when you're good," Jensen called out.

J.D. got in behind the thief after a wary glance at Storm Cloud. He unfurled the rope and proceeded to yank the thief's hands behind his back. Once J.D. had the thief secured, he stepped back and pulled his Colt and held the man at gunpoint. "Good here, Jensen."

Finally, Jensen jumped down off the tailgate and headed over to J.D. "Take him to the first barn, Jeff. I wanna talk to him before we talk to Beaver."

"You can't just keep me here," the man protested sharply.

Jensen admired the man's stubbornness. He stared at the man's eyes, hazel in the floodlights. "As a matter of fact, I can. Like I said… trespassing."

Jensen turned to Jeff. "I'm just gonna clear this mess up then I'll meet you at the barn."

 

-=-=-=-

Storm Cloud was _not_ happy. After Jensen finished turning off the lights and disassembling everything he'd set up, he headed over to the barn. He could hear the stallion whinnying and snorting in the distance.

In the barn, Jeff had the horse thief tied to a post. They both looked pissed off and Jensen imagined that some unpleasantries had been exchanged.

"You can't keep me here. This is kidnapping," the thief growled as Jensen walked up to him.

"I don't think you've got a good understanding of Texas law," Jensen answered. He tipped his hat back so he could get a better look at the culprit. "He tell you anything J.D.?"

"Nope, just a lot of name callin' and hot air," J.D. said quietly. "Should I call Beaver now?"

Jensen shook his head. "I'll do it. I want to talk to him first." 

And idea had been brewing in Jensen's mind since he'd first seen the thief handling Storm Cloud. But, he went with his gut and needed to hear some answers from the man before deciding.

"I'm not saying a thing," the thief said stubbornly.

Jensen headed over to one of the horse stalls and picked up a chair. He brought it back, set it down back towards the man and straddled it. "Go on and turn in, J.D. I'll deal with this."

"Calling off your guerilla?" The thief chuckled bravely but he sounded less confident than he was trying to appear.

J.D. stepped towards the thief, but Jensen held up his hand. "I'm good here."

Reluctantly, J.D. headed out of the barn. Years of experience working with Jensen had taught him two things: Jensen was more than capable of taking care of himself and there was no point in arguing with Jensen when he'd made up his mind about something.

Jensen leaned his rifle against the chair and stared at the thief. He _was_ tall, probably even taller than Jensen. He looked as though he was around the same age as Jensen, maybe a little younger. His jaw was cut sharply and there was a thick growth of unkempt stubble on his face. His dark brown hair almost reached his shoulders, in the front, it was long enough to fall forward and cover his green-gold eyes. His eyes were almost feline and as Jensen stared into them, they narrowed.

"Let me go."

Jensen smiled slightly. "By my reckoning, you owe me about two and a half million. The horse you were trying to steal tonight is worth close to a million –"

"- you stuck him in that paddock because you people couldn't handle him," the thief spat furiously.

"You been watchin' the ranch?"

"That's not against the law."

"It is if you're casing the joint." Jensen scratched his cheek absentmindedly as he studied the thief's face. "My name is Jensen Ackles."

"I know who you are."

"This is my ranch. These are my horses. Would have been well within my rights to shoot you tonight," Jensen said calmly. He wouldn't actually even consider shooting _at_ someone, but the thief didn't need to know that.

The thief frowned, and his lips curled into a sneer. "After what I've heard about you, I'm surprised you didn't."

Jensen couldn't help chuckling in surprise. He'd never shot anyone. Hadn't even threatened to as far as he could recollect. "I didn't know I had a reputation."

"A spoiled, rich kid who doesn't deal well with not getting what he wants. You've bought out most of the small ranches and you don't give a shit about the people whose livelihoods you ruin."

Saying nothing, Jensen kept his gaze locked with the horse thief's. There was so much that people didn't know about the business deals that Jensen made behind closed doors. Hell, J.D. had owned one of the first ranches that Jensen had taken over. He paid J.D. about double the going salary – and much more than he'd been making in profit when he ran it.

He _didn't_ like being told no, and he didn't like not getting what he wanted. Spoiled? His father had showered him with expensive gifts instead of being a decent parent. All things were relative. "You done?"

"You're quite a playboy when you go to Austin and you don't seem to care much about the men you pick up."

"What are you, a gossip columnist?" Sure, there had been some men in Austin. What of it? Jensen didn't want the entanglement of a relationship.

"You think that there isn't enough written about the young billionaire online already?" The thief was still glaring.

Jensen licked his lips and frowned. "Are you stealing from me because I'm rich? Or because you dislike my moral code?"

"Neither," the thief answered quickly. "It's because those horses were… because… this…" Obviously realizing he had incriminated himself, the thief went silent.

Things were getting off track. Jensen closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. "I saw you with Storm Cloud. You got him to let you ride bareback. We couldn't even get him to let us approach him. Damn near killed three of us."

"You don't know how to handle horses like him. He's spirited."

"I'll say," Jensen answered as he rubbed his jaw. He could still feel the dull ache of his jaw hitting the ground in the paddock.

"I don't like the way your guerilla treats them."

Jensen bristled. He would _never_ allow an animal to be mistreated. "You sayin' J.D. and his men are abusive to these animals?"

After a few moments hesitation, the thief shook his head. "No. Just, they get frustrated with them. They need to have more patience and take their time. These horses shouldn't just be stuck in a paddock alone because _you_ don't know how to reach them."

Jensen shrugged a shoulder. He could concede that, maybe, they were pushing things too fast. After all, time was money. "What's your name?"

"I'm tied to a pole," the thief answered as though that explained his lack of cooperation.

The way Jensen Ackles had become successful was by following his gut. It was his mainstay. There was _some_ inexplicable quality about the horse thief, something in his eyes that made Jensen think he could be useful… maybe even trusted.

Jensen stood and pulled his knife out of his thigh holster. As he walked around behind the thief he heard a sharp intake of breath. He sliced the ropes off the man's wrists and re-sheathed his knife. "I don't stab people either. You really need to find some new sources for your gossip."

Jensen straddled the chair again and rested his forearms on the back. 

"Jared," the thief said. "My name is Jared Padalecki." He rubbed at his wrists, there were red marks where the rope had been.

The name sounded slightly familiar, but that could be for numerous reasons. "Okay, you know who I am. So. Grab a chair and let's talk."

Jensen watched as Jared looked around, spotted another chair, and walked over to grab it. He moved like someone who knew his body: confident. He was dressed all in black: loose jeans, dark boots, and a black button down.

When Jared was sitting, Jensen looked down at the red marks on his wrists. "Sorry 'bout that."

"It wasn't your Guer- J.D. I was trying to work the knots loose," Jared explained.

Jensen nodded. Clearly, they had established that truth was a good currency. "I have a business proposition for you."

Jared sat back and folded his arms. "I'm not so sure I want to work for someone like you."

Obviously, there was more to the stockpile of information that Jared seemed to have about Jensen. "Well, false rumors aside _and_ this place, we resolve this."

"Okay," Jared said even though he still looked hesitant.

"If I turn you over to the Sheriff, just for the trespassing with intent to steal you're lookin' at a $10,000 fine and up to six months in jail."

For a few long moments, Jared just stared. Then his shoulders fell ever-so-slightly, and he nodded. "Okay."

"I'm pretty sure that a judge wouldn't have any trouble believin' that you were responsible for the two other thefts-"

"- You don't have any proof that I did that-"

Jensen smiled slightly. "C'mon, you basically admitted it."

"I didn't," Jared said weakly but it wasn't very convincing.

"Stay on at the ranch. Work off some of what you owe me. And, you teach me to do what you do."

"Steal horses?" Jared asked.

"You're funny too," Jensen said as he smiled. "A sense of humor is a good thing around here. What do you think?"

It looked as though Jared was thinking over everything, drawing comparisons perhaps, between the plus column and the minus. "How much do I have to work off?'

Business was a comfortable playing field for Jensen. "You stole two horses before tonight. You gonna tell me where they are?"

Jared shook his head slowly and kept his gaze on Jensen's.

"Right. Don't suppose I have any chance of getting them back?" Jensen asked. It was worth a shot. He felt a little like he was asking for a miracle given how stubborn Jared seemed to be regarding the horses.

A strange expression flitted across Jared's face, too quick for Jensen to identify it. Jensen leaned forward to study the man a little more closely.

"I can't," Jared said. "I can't get them back."

The admission surprised Jensen a little. He hadn't really expected Jared to admit to doing anything. He found himself wondering if there was more criminal activity in Jared's life. He'd wanted those horses bad enough to risk being caught. To Jensen, it didn't seem worth six months in jail. "I figured. Let's say I give you a deal. Work off $300,000."

"What?" Jared looked genuinely shocked by Jensen's offer. 

Jensen thought it was fair considering the value of the two horses that Jared had _relocated_.

"It would take me years to work that off," Jared said stubbornly.

"Have you forgotten how much my horses were worth?"

Jared actually had the nerve to roll his eyes before suggesting a counter offer. "$100,000."

Shaking his head, Jensen smiled. "$250,000 and you train J.D. and me individually."

For a few moments, Jared just seemed to be studying Jensen. "How do I know I can trust you? What's to stop you from calling the Sheriff after I work with you?"

"I don't go back on deals. I'm a man of my word. And truth? I don't mess around when it comes to my business. You teach me what you know and it's another thing J.A. Ranching can offer." Jensen sat back slightly and stretched his back. He was beginning to feel the results of their earlier tousle with Storm Cloud.

The expression on Jared's face was difficult to read. He looked vaguely disappointed which made Jensen frown.

Jared sighed. "$200,000 is what I'll work off, but I don’t want to train J.D. Just you." Jared sounded firm.

As a businessman, Jensen liked to think that he knew when the bargaining phase of any meeting was over. Throwing energy into a battle that was already over was a waste. "Fine. I can deal with that."

Jensen stood so quickly that Jared flinched slightly. Jensen just thrust his right hand out and waited for Jared to take it.

Jared stood slowly, straightening his shirt before grasping Jensen's hand firmly.

Jared's grip was strong, his hand warm and Jensen smiled.

"Well, Ackles, you might not be quite as predictable as I thought."

After thinking about it for a couple of moments, Jensen said, "I'll take that as a compliment."

-=-=-=-

"This house is huge," Jared muttered as they walked into the foyer of the main ranch house.

"It's way bigger than what I need. I only use a few rooms on the main floor," Jensen answered. If he were to be honest, he'd always found the home to be a bit embarrassing. He'd been talked into the design by the architect he had hired. And maybe he hadn't paid as much attention as he should have when he was approving the plans.

"This way," Jensen said. He led Jared down the hallway that lay to the right. "My – the master suite is down at the end. My office is right next door." He gestured to a door that was open a little way down the hall. "That one is a workout room if you want to use it."

They walked a few more steps and the echo of their footsteps seemed too loud, so Jensen kept talking. "J.D. has the wing off the back of the foyer. Most of the boys live in the guest house behind the barn."

"Why can't I stay out there?" Jared asked as he followed Jensen.

"Partly because I wanna keep an eye on you. You did steal from me. And if you don't get along with J.D., that could be a problem." Everyone who worked on the ranch admired J.D., many of the Ranch hands had worked for him on his own ranch. Jared and J.D. had clearly rubbed each other the wrong way initially. Jensen didn't want it to come to a head.

Jensen pushed a door open and held his hand out for Jared to enter. "You should be comfortable here. You can take one of the trucks tomorrow if you need to pick up some stuff." 

"Alright." Jared looked a little surprised again. He looked around the huge room, then went over to sit on the bottom of the king-size bed. He bounced a couple of times and smiled at Jensen. "Seems like a nice room. You chargin' me rent?"

"I hadn't thought about it, no?" Jensen didn't want to complicate things anymore. "You work until you've paid off the amount we agreed to and you're a free man."

"Two hundred thousand," Jared said as though the goal was completely unachievable.

"It'll go fast," Jensen said. He wasn't interested in torturing the man by insisting that he stay somewhere he didn't want to be. Besides, Jensen considered himself to be a skilled horseman; he would learn quickly and then there would be no reason to keep Jared around.

"Well," Jensen said as he began to feel a little awkward. "Meals are in the kitchen to the left of the foyer. Six am, Noon and seven pm. Anything you need, let me know. Start tomorrow?"

"Sure." Jared nodded. "Oh, bathroom."

"You have your own, right over there." Jensen gestures towards the door on the right-hand side of the entertainment center. "There's a jacuzzi tub and a shower. Oh, and there's a pool outside if you swim. There are swimsuits and robes and stuff in the closet." Jensen was starting to feel the burn of embarrassment on his cheeks.

"Oh. Okay."

"Okay then." Jensen rubbed his eyes and smiled. "Night. See you in a few hours."

He took a last look at Jared then scooted out the door. It was probably a good thing that someone who managed to look as attractive as Jared wasn't going to be around very long.

-=-=-=-

Jensen was pretty sure that he didn’t sleep a wink. But, he was up at 5:30 am cooking scrambled eggs, sausage, and hash browns. They had a cook, but some mornings, Jensen would text him and say he'd take over. He enjoyed cooking; especially when he had a lot on his mind.

J.D. was the first to arrive in the kitchen. He mumbled something that sounded like _morning_ and poured himself a huge cup of coffee. He leaned back against the counter, legs crossed at the ankles. He sipped his coffee as Jensen finished the scrambled eggs.

"There were lights on in one of the guest rooms last night," J.D. said finally.

"Yeah?" Jensen plated some eggs, sausage and hash browns then slid it down the counter towards J.D. "Here. There are biscuits on the table."

"And gravy?"

"It's like you think I don’t know you, Jeff."

Jeff chuckled as he picked up his plate. He headed over to the long kitchen table and sat down. "Strange choice."

"What is?” Jensen knew perfectly well what J.D. was referring to but he had an overwhelming desire _not_ to talk about it. "You love scrambled eggs and I put cheese on them."

"Fuck off," Jeff said even though he had a mouthful of said eggs.

"Nice. And so early in the morning too." Jensen continued to stir the scrambled eggs even though they were done.

"Why is Jared living in the house?" J.D. was rarely subtle and he didn’t miss much.

"You live in the house," Jensen said. 

"Yeah well, I'm not your type," J.D. said.

"I don't know what you're talkin' about," Jensen said even though he did. "Jeff, you know you're the man of my dreams." Jensen winked at Jeff over his shoulder.

"Just be careful, Jensen. You don't know anything about the kid other than he's a thief."

"I know a couple things," Jensen said softly. He really didn't want to have a big discussion about it.

"You don't need to save him, Jensen," J.D. said. He set his fork down and turned to look at his boss.

"I'm not trying to save anyone," Jensen said. He heard footsteps coming down the hall and began to set up another plate. "Jared doesn't want to be here any more than I want him here. I'll learn what he can't teach me, and we'll get him out of here."

"Can I have breakfast first?"

Jensen cringed. Jared had gotten down the hallway considerably faster than he'd expected him to. He finished plating the breakfast, tossed a glare over his shoulder at Jeff and set the breakfast down on the table. "Here you go, Jared."

There were furrows in Jared's brow and he stood there in the doorway for a while. " _You_ cook breakfast?"

"Once in a while," Jensen said. He shrugged. "I like cooking. It relaxes me."

"Huh." Jared's eyebrows lifted slightly, and he sat down in front of his plate.

"Mornin'," J.D. growled into his coffee mug.

"Yeah," Jared said. The surprise was gone from his features and he was back to looking mostly indignant and a little pissed off. It didn’t' seem to stop him from being hungry though.

"Jared's gonna work with me this mornin', J.D. I'll come out and join you and the boys later."

"Where's the kid gonna be workin' when he's not teachin' you?"

"I was thinking with Matt."

"I'm right here," Jared said.

Jensen pressed his lips together and set his own breakfast down on the table. "You need to go get some stuff today, right, Jared?"

"Yeah, unless you want me working naked."

Jeff choked on the spoonful of eggs he had just put in his mouth and Jensen had to whack him a couple of times between the shoulder blades.

"I think clothing would be a good idea, Jared. It's hot and dirty work." Jensen had to look down at his breakfast because he could _feel_ that J.D. was trying not to laugh.

They ate in silence for a while and Jensen tried not to stare at Jared. He looked as though he had just rolled out of his bed and come straight down the hall. Of course, he probably had. It wasn't like Jared had planned to move in to Jensen's ranch house when he had arrived to steal Storm Cloud.

"You know, Jared. This is all pretty rushed. If you need to, you can take a truck and head into town… or wherever… and get what you need. You and I could start work together this afternoon."

Jared shoveled the last of his eggs into his mouth, chewed for a while then nodded.

When Jared swallowed, Jensen couldn't help watching the way the muscles in his throat worked under his tanned skin. He would blame J.D. for that later.

"I'll go now. Oughta be back by noon," Jared answered thoughtfully. He sat there staring until Jensen began to feel even more uncomfortable.

"Keys?" Jared asked finally.

"Right." Jensen pointed across the kitchen to the door. "All the truck keys are in that rack by the door. Numbered. Take any set that's there and use the key fob to find it."

"You're not coming with me?"

Jensen shook his head. "I trust you."

The noise that Jeff made left no doubt that he didn't agree.

If Jared heard it, he ignored it. "I'll get goin' then."

He lingered a few moments at the table as though he wasn't quite sure what to do. Then he got up, smoothed his wrinkled shirt down and headed out the door after snatching some keys off the rack.

When Jensen heard one of the alarms outside beep, he glared at J.D. "Shut up."

J.D. ate a few more mouthfuls of his breakfast in silence then set his fork down quietly. "You know I just worry about ya, son."

There was _no one_ else alive that Jensen would allow to call him, son, not even his own father. But J.D. and Jensen had been close for a long time. Jensen needed J.D.'s skill and knowledge of the ranch. And when it came to matters of an interpersonal nature, J.D. had a hell of a lot more experience than Jensen.

"He'll come back. He loves horses and he doesn't want to go to jail," Jensen offered as though it explained everything.

"It's not that I'm bothered about."

Jensen tended toward thinking that J.D. worried too much about him. "He's in the house because he's not gonna be here that long. You really think I'm gonna keep him here long enough to pay off those other horses?"

J.D. shrugged and looked at Jensen. "He's young, good looking, probably smart under all that _asshole_. He's a great horseman. I just don't think getting' tangled up with him is a good idea. And you just sent him off in a $40, 000 truck."

Jensen knew exactly what J.D. was getting at but his concerns were groundless. "First of all, where's he gonna get to in a truck with _JA Ranches_ painted all over it? And second, I don't want the complication of a relationship. And fourth-"

"-third."

Jensen took a moment to glare at J.D. " _Third_ , I don't know shit about him. I get that. All I know is he's good with horses. I didn't let him stay here because he's a hot piece of ass. He's here because I can learn something from him. Soon as I've done that I'll cut him loose."

J.D. raised an eyebrow. "Just like that?"

"Just like that."

Rather than continuing the conversation, Jensen focused on eating his breakfast. The sooner he could move Jared on, the better, so he had better learn quickly.

-=-=-=-

When Jared drove back onto the ranch, Jensen couldn't help giving J.D. a nudge with his shoulder. He liked being right about Jared. It made him feel like he had the upper hand which was always good in business.

"Doesn't mean you should let your guard down," J.D. said as he watched Matt finally get a herd of horses into one of the pens.

Matt trotted one of the stallions around in a circle as the rest galloped off. "Good job, Matt," J.D. called out.

Jensen tipped his hat in Matt's direction.

"Matt's a great guy," J.D. said quietly.

Jensen closed his eyes and let his head drop for a few moments then shook his head. "Jeff, I don't need to be chasin' around after men who work here." Jensen couldn't begin to imagine what kind of work environment that would create.

"He's gay," J.D. said as he leaned on the top of the fence and squinted in the afternoon sun.

"Jesus," Jensen said, "it's not a club or something. Just because we're both gay doesn't mean we should hook up."

"I'm just sayin'," J.D. said as his lips twitched into a slight smile.

"Do not say anything to him. Or anything else to me for that matter." Jensen patted his friend on the shoulder. "I'm gonna get started with Jared."

"Uh huh."

"Jeff, I swear I will kick your ass." Jensen could hear Jeff laughing as he walked away.

-=-=-=-


	2. Chapter 2

It was early afternoon by the time Jared and Jensen met to begin his first lesson. J.D. had pointed out a yearling new to the ranch who was skittish. It seemed a good horse, to begin with.

Jensen climbed the corral fence, swung his leg over the top and sat there.

"What are you doing?" Jared asked.

"You're going to show me how you do what you do, right?" Jensen tipped his hat back slightly as he studied Jared's face.

Jared had showered and changed when he'd returned to the ranch. He was dressed in Levi's, cowboy boots and a blue, worn cotton t-shirt. His freshly washed hair looked smooth and soft. The overall effect was appealing. _Thanks, J.D._

"Ackles!"

"What?"

"Are you even listening to me?" Jared shifted his weight to his back foot and planted his hands on his hips.

Silently, Jensen vowed to make J.D.'s life hell. "Sorry. Was thinkin' about… work. What were you saying?"

Jared took a deep breath, looked down at his boots for a few moments, then looked back at Jensen. "I want you to show me how you would get a bridle on him."

Jensen frowned. "He's not broken."

"I know." There was a smug expression on Jared's face.

 _Fine._ Jensen knew a challenge when he heard one. Jared figured that he wouldn't be able to handle a horse like the one in the corral. Time for Jensen to step up and prove him wrong. "Alright."

Jensen hopped down into the corral. The horse immediately startled and trotted to the far side.

Making sure his hat was on firmly, Jensen walked along the fence and picked up the rope that was hanging on one of the posts.

"Hey Buddy," Jensen said softly as he approached the yearling. He wiped the sweat off his forehead with the sleeve of his shirt. He moved slowly, staying at a right angle to the horse's left side. "You be a good boy and stay right there."

The horse stepped back a few steps, turned and trotted around behind Jensen. _Right,_ it was gonna be like that.

Jensen swung the lasso out and began to spin it. He walked in a small circle in the middle of the corral, paralleling the movements of the horse.

He clucked his tongue and moved towards the horse at the same time as he let the rope go.

The lasso landed perfectly around the horse's neck and Jensen dug his heels into the dirt as he pulled back on the rope.

The horse reared as soon as the rope tightened. Its front hooves circled in the air for a few moments before landing back on the ground.

Holding tight to the rope, Jensen was pulled forward. He kept his boot heels dug in, but he was no match for the strength of the yearling.

Rearing again, the horse nearly fell on its side but saved himself at the last moment. Seamlessly, he moved into a gallop and raced past Jensen's side.

Caught off guard, Jensen barely stepped out of the way in time. As it was, his arm was nearly pulled out of its socket. He got a better grip on the rope and leaned away from it to attempt to anchor himself.

For a few precarious minutes, Jensen managed to keep hold of the horse, then all hell broke loose. For some reason, the horse changed direction slightly. But, it was enough that Jensen stumbled forwards. As he tried to tighten the rope, the horse reared again, and Jensen was jerked off the ground.

He landed _so_ hard on his shoulder, that he lost his grip on the rope and his hat flew off. He covered his head as the horse galloped past him again.

He heard Jared jump down into the corral and then the smooth tones of his voice as he approached the horse.

For a few long moments, Jensen focused on the throbbing pain in his shoulder then he watched as Jared moved closer to the horse. His arms were held out to the sides as he followed the frightened hose around the corral. "Easy, Ash. Easy."

Jensen managed to sit up and held his throbbing shoulder as he watched Jared. 

Jared approached Ash with the same relaxed posture and voice as he'd used the previous night. His hands were held up, his arms held up slightly as he spoke steadily to the horse.

After a while, the horse slowed to a walk. Jared continued to speak, never moving forwards but keeping his distance.

Still holding his shoulder, Jensen finally climbed to his feet. He waited until the horse was at the far side of the corral before heading to the fence.

"You okay, Ackles?" Jared asked in the same soft and gentle voice.

"Fine," Jensen said quietly. His arm hurt like hell and he was pretty sure he had a concussion. But yeah, he was _fine_.

Jared worked slowly, a spiral that mirrored the horse's pace… which began to slow. Soon, the horse was walking, the rope still trailing behind him in the dirt. Jared began to move closer to the horse. His pace was steady and slow, his voice too low for Jensen to hear. Soon the horse's pace slowed again then it stopped. He stood there, wide-eyes blinking at Jared.

"Fuck," Jensen muttered under his breath. The guy was good.

Soon, Jared was brushing his hand down the horse's flank, along his shoulder then he was finally able to unloop the rope from the horse's neck. He coiled the rope as he strode toward Jensen. "You sure you're okay? That was a hard fall."

Jared bent without stopping to grab Jensen's hat. When he got to Jensen's side, he reached out and gently ran his fingers across Jensen's forehead and into his hair. "You sure you’re okay?"

Jensen stepped back away from the touch. He was half embarrassed and half bewildered. Clearly, he had a lot to learn about horses _and_ Jared. "What did I do wrong?"

Looking a little taken aback, Jared blinked a few times, then hooked the rope back over the fence post. As he turned, he dusted off Jensen's hat and held it out.

Jensen snatched the hat and settled it back on his head. "Well?"

"You didn't even find out his name before you went in there."

"He's a horse, not my date," Jensen answered quickly.

"You didn’t bother to look at his background. _Not_ that your lasso skills didn't impress me. But, the damn horse wasn't ready for that. You could have gotten seriously messed up."

"But, I didn't." Jensen brushed some dust off his shirt. "Let's go again."

"You always like this?" Jared asked. 

"What?" Jensen shifted his hat slightly and winced because his head was aching.

"Stubborn."

"I know what it –" Jensen shook his head. "I'm not stubborn, I just don't like wasting time and I like to get what I want."

"Stubborn," Jared muttered under his breath.

"What?"

"Nothing."

Jensen decided to let it go. The afternoon was going to be long enough without Jensen getting frustrated.

-=-=-=-

Prior to seeing Jared in action, Jensen had thought he was pretty good at breaking horses. After six hours in a corral with Jared and _Ash_ , Jensen was sore, bruised, frustrated and was much less confident than he'd been the day before.

After dinner, at which Jared was present but silent, Jensen made an excuse about needing to do some reading and managed to walk out of the kitchen without walking as though every muscle in his body ached.

He flopped down onto his bed and promptly fell asleep.

He slept _hard_ , maybe not used to the level of activity he had kept up to impress Jared. He also woke up with a pounding headache. Above his right temple, there was a goose egg and when he reached up to rub at the ache, he realized how stiff his shoulder was. Learning Jared's _method_ wasn't quite as easy as he'd thought it would be.

Jensen groaned as he wrestled out of his t-shirt. He glanced in the mirror on his closet door. There was a huge bruise on his shoulder. "Fuck."

He closed his eyes for a few moments and tried to will the persistent throbbing in his head to subside. Sadly, it didn't work.

Ice might help. If it didn't help his head, it would certainly help his shoulder. Jensen limped down the hall and felt that it was considerably longer than it had been in the morning before his lessons.

He couldn't hear anyone moving around in the house. J.D. usually went to his room pretty early. Jared? Well, Jensen had no idea what hours Jared liked to keep. 

When he pulled the fridge door open, the light took a pie-shaped slice out of the darkness in the kitchen. Because there was always someone hurting themselves, there was always a good supply of ice-packs in the freezer.

Jensen pulled out a pack and pressed it to his head for a while. He wasn't sure if the throbbing actually eased or if the pain of the cold just eclipsed it. He moved the ice to the front of his shoulder. "Damn it."

"You okay?"

The voice made Jensen lurch back from the fridge, drop the ice bag and smack his hand into the freezer door. "Jesus Christ, Jared."

"Sorry." Jared chuckled quietly.

"I didn't think anyone else was up." Jensen wasn't used to running into people in his kitchen.

Jared stepped into the slice of light and rested his hand on Jensen's shoulder. "That looks like it hurts."

Shifting back slightly, Jensen shook his head. "Happens all the time."

"That doesn't mean it doesn't hurt." Jared disappeared out of the light from the fridge and Jensen heard a click and the oven light came on.

"You like to cook at night?"

"Shut up and sit down."

Jensen closed the freezer door, retrieved the ice pack, and sat down at the kitchen table. "Usually two or three of us handle a horse. I'm not used to trying to hold one by myself."

"Maybe that's part of the problem." Jared yanked the freezer door open again and scooped some ice into a plastic bag, then walked over and sat beside Jensen.

He draped the bag over Jensen's shoulder, so it was cooling the front and the back of the joint. "Works better like this."

Jensen nodded. Jared seemed to know what he was doing when it came to injuries. "You iced a lot of shoulders?"

"I've iced a lot of everything. I didn't know anything about horses when I started," Jared answered.

"Who'd you learn from?" Jensen held the other ice pack to the side of his head where the throbbing was worst.

"At an animal rescue center. You know what happens to racehorses that don't live up to their potential?"

"Sometimes they go to auction, sometimes they're bought by ranches just because they want to own a racing hor-"

"- and they are slaughtered if people don't want them," Jared interrupted. "If they're too high strung, if they're injured or _God forbid_ they have some sort of illness. It's naive to think that all those horses end up in some beautiful pasture."

"Wow," Jensen said. He wasn't entirely sure he knew what else to say. It wasn't as though Jared had any real knowledge of how things ran on the Ranch. The assumptions were beginning to get to Jensen.

"That's all you've got to say?" Jared sat back, arms folded across his chest.

Anger began to boil up through Jensen's frustration. He was already tired, sore and had a bruised ego, he didn't need to deal with Jared's misconceptions. "Jared, any horses that leave _my_ ranch leave as a result of a private sale. I retire racers to qualified owners who are going to give them a nice life. I have _never_ sent my horses to a public auction and I never will. You _really_ need to get some new sources of information."

Jared's mouth was open slightly as he stared at Jensen. He unfolded his arms and rubbed his palms on the thighs of his jeans. "Sorry."

It wasn't much of an apology, but Jensen hadn't really expected one. Jared seemed to have made up his mind. "Tomorrow, I'll arrange for you to spend the day with Matt. You can find out everything you want about the way we run things here. After that, if you really feel that my Ranch is a… hellhole, you can leave. I don't care about the money. I just don't want to deal with this shit all the time."

Finally, Jared looked cowed. He lowered his gaze then, reached out for Jensen's hand. "I – I really am sorry. I didn't mean-"

Pulling his hand free, Jensen stood. "It's fine. You'll spend tomorrow with Matt. I could use a break." Jensen pointed at his shoulder briefly as he walked to the kitchen door.

"Night, Jensen."

Pausing at the doorway, Jensen turned. "Night. Thanks for the plastic bag tip."

Walking away from the kitchen… okay, limping away… Jensen just felt bone tired. He really liked Jared. He had no idea why, because the feelings were clearly not mutual. He quite possibly had the worst opinion of Jensen that had ever been formed.

Jensen had never had a problem admitting that he had faults, he'd made mistakes, but he didn't want to be blamed for things he hadn't done. He knew he could be impatient, and he _did_ get frustrated when he wasn't able to get what he wanted, but he felt like most people were the same.

The main reason that Jensen was in the ranching business was that he loved horses. He'd been on a horse before he could even walk properly. Horses were his livelihood, but they were also _far_ more reliable than most of the people Jensen had encountered.

He groaned as he stepped into his bedroom, closed the door quietly and headed straight back to bed.

-=-=-=-

It was three days before Jensen ran into Jared again. It wasn't deliberate. The first day, Jensen had retreated to his desk to nurse his wounds while Jared worked with Matt. The next day, Danneel called Jensen to put out some business fires. She had said that Jensen's Texan charm and sexy smile were needed. Jensen went, even though he thought she was blowing smoke up his ass.

The third day, Jensen needed some peace. He got up before sunrise, packed some lunch, saddled Liberty and headed out to ride fences. It was one of the tasks he undertook himself whenever he felt like he needed downtime.

He and Liberty were a good team. Jensen had acquired the young stallion from a ranch that had gone into foreclosure. Liberty had an injured foreleg and was going to be auctioned off. Jensen had paid the rancher a quarter million for Liberty, then spent another quarter on the best equine veterinarian in the state.

When Liberty had first arrived at J.A. Ranches, the only person he trusted was Jensen. It was a good feeling that turned out to be rare.

By the time Jensen had ridden so long that he was dusty and tired, he felt better. When he got back to the barn, he wiped Liberty down, then headed towards the house. He stopped at the gate to the pool, punched in his security code and slipped through the gate.

One of the many things Jensen loved about the ranch was the huge pool and the fact that it stayed hot into the evening in Texas.

When the architect had shown him the plans for the house, the only thing he had suggested was an outside shower. After a long ride, Jensen loved to strip down, have a shower and dive straight into the pool.

Jeff wasn't a swimmer and most of the Ranch hands preferred the creek that ran across the back pasture. It was one of Jensen's peaceful retreats.

After he'd stripped and washed off the day's dirt, Jensen padded along the hot concrete pool deck until he could dive into the deep end of the pool. The water enveloped him, cool and refreshing; he closed his eyes as his body sliced through the water.

When his head broke through the surface of the water, he drew in a long, slow breath of the sweet evening air.

"You didn't say that skinny dipping was the rule of the house."

The voice startled Jensen and he spun around in the water to find himself staring at Jared.

Jared's long arms were stretched along the side of the pool as he leaned back against the side. His damp hair clung to his face in little wisps. There was water beaded on the muscles of his shoulders and down his chest.

For a few moments, Jensen just took it all in. Yeah, he'd told Jared he could use the pool, but he hadn't actually expected him to. Nor had he wanted Jared to look so attractive as he reclined in the water.

Just about the time the silence became uncomfortable, Jared tilted his head questioningly.

"Sorry," Jensen said even as he wondered what he was apologizing for. "I just. No one is ever out here at night. I like to swim after a long ride."

"Seems like a great idea."

Jensen nodded, wondering what the societal rules were regarding conversation while swimming nude. He backed up slowly as he continued to tread water. "I usually just spend a few minutes here."

"Don't rush on my account," Jared said.

Jensen smiled. He was already judging the distance from the pile of pool towels to the steps out of the pool. He wasn't sure how much of his dignity he could preserve.

Rather unexpectedly, Jared pushed off the side of the pool and glided through the water until he was in front of Jensen. "Have you been avoiding me?"

"What? No," Jensen _kind_ of lied. "I've been busy. There's a contract negotiation winding up and some other business I've been dealing with."

Jared's hands moved through the water in graceful figure eights as he kept himself afloat. "I spent a day working with Matt like you asked."

"Matt is great," Jensen answered quietly. He felt about as awkward as he _ever_ had, treading water there, a couple of feet from Jared… naked. It was like one of those bad stress dreams he couldn't wake up from.

"He is. I learned a lot about the day to day operation of things out here," Jared said as he floated closer.

"Good," Jensen answered. He swept his damp hair back from his face then slid his hand straight back into the water. "Good."

Even through the rippling water, it was obvious that Jared was just as fit as Jensen had thought he was. It was remarkably distracting considering Jensen's current state of undress.

"I owe you an apology."

"I doubt it," Jensen answered quickly hoping to shorten the conversation. He tried to keep himself turned to the side to save what remained of his dignity.

"Matt was pretty clear that you don't let any horses leave your care unless you can guarantee their safety." Jared kept his gaze locked on Jensen's face but it _really_ felt like those eyes were moving all over Jensen's body.

"Good. I mean. Good that you got the information. Not good that you apologized." It was probably a better choice for Jensen to keep quiet until his nerves were a little less rattled.

"I made a lot of unfounded accusations. I shouldn't have."

Jensen smiled slightly, nodded then kicked his feet to put a little more distance between them. He hoped he was being subtle because the last thing he needed was Jared confusing his discomfort with nudity with intimidation. Not that it really mattered either way. Jensen was trapped in the pool until Jared decided to get out of it.

"Are we working together tomorrow? We didn't get very far." Jared drifted closer.

Jensen backed up. "Sure, I can meet you at the paddock tomorrow afternoon. Pick up where we left off?" The truth was that Jensen would have agreed to anything just to get out of the pool.

"Good. I was hard on you. I have an idea for a different approach. I think it will work better for you." Jared smiled then ran a hand over his damp hair.

"I hope it doesn't involve unplanned nudity," Jensen muttered quietly.

"Is that your subtle way of hinting that I should leave so you can escape without me seeing any more of your body?" The smile on Jared's face was somewhere between smug and shy and…

… it confused the hell out of Jensen. He looked good, he knew that. Not in a big-headed kind of way _knew it_ but he tried to eat right and stay active. He was strong because it helped with his work. And if it helped him to pick up men in Austin where was the harm in that? But, Jared was something new, something new to the equation. He was gorgeous, there was no denying that. He just gave Jensen mixed messages. There were times when Jensen felt like Jared was attracted to him. There were times when he felt like he repelled the man. It was unsettling in a way that Jensen was unused to.

Besides, it wouldn’t be good for Jensen to get involved with a horse thief. All other things notwithstanding, that _was_ how their relationship began.

"Trying to come up with a snappy retort?" Jared asked with a smile on his face.

Jensen realized he'd been silent for a while. "I… was just thinking. And yeah. It'd be nice if you let me get out alone. I have a reputation to maintain." He smiled sheepishly.

"You've got nothing to be ashamed of, you know?"

"What?" It took a few heartbeats for Jensen to process the words. "Oh. No, I'm not. I mean. I'm fine. Just. Well, it's inappropriate for an employee/employer relationship." He almost had to will himself to stop talking. And it really wouldn't hurt if he could stop looking at the strange curve to Jared's eyelids.

Jared nodded. He stared for a while, blinking slowly and then turned and swam back to the side of the pool. He glanced back over his shoulder briefly. "Night, Jensen."

"See you tomorrow."

Jared pulled himself out of the pool and Jensen couldn't help watching. The pool water ran in silver rivulets down Jared's tanned back. He stretched his arms up over his head for a few moments, then padded over to a chair with a towel on it. He slung the towel low around his hips and wandered into the house.

Jensen licked his lips. It was at that moment Jensen realized that Jared's critique of his body meant that he had obviously gotten a decent view.

Jensen let himself sink under the water to cool the burn on his cheeks.

-=-=-=-

When Jensen arrived at the paddock in the afternoon, Jared was already working with Storm Cloud. He wasted no time in getting Jensen involved.

Jared motioned for Jensen to stand, boots shoulder width apart at one side of the paddock. "First things first."

Jensen couldn't help the smile that was creeping onto his face. "Okay."

"He's naturally a herd animal. But the way you approach him? That's like you're asking him if you can join _his_ herd. We want him to ask us."

Jared looked dead serious.

"We what?"

" _You_ want him to ask to join your herd. So. Stand here and wait," Jared said as he rolled his shoulders and seemed to relax.

"Okay." Jensen tried to stop his mind from going over all the other things he could be doing. He really needed to give it a good try.

Storm Cloud snorted and tossed his mane as he trotted back and forth along the fence at the opposite side of the paddock. His hoofs kicked up dust and his tail swished back and forth.

Jensen watched Jared out of the corner of his eye, studied the high curve of his cheek, and the way the chestnut locks of hair moved in the breeze.

"Just breathe slow and steady. Stay relaxed," Jared said softly. He reached out and rested his palm against the small of Jensen's back.

Body heat bled through Jensen's shirt and he looked over at Storm Cloud in an attempt to remind himself of why they were there.

The stallion continued to trot back and forth for a while and then he finally slowed down and snorted.

"Breathe," Jared murmured as he gently moved his hand on Jensen's back.

Jensen hadn't noticed he wasn't breathing, and it didn't have anything to do with the damned horse. He shifted his feet slightly, hoping that Jared would get the hint and remove his hand.

He didn't.

"Be still." Jared's eyes had a gentleness to them as he followed Storm Cloud's every move.

The stallion snorted and stared at Jensen. He took a few tentative steps forward and shook his head.

"Still," Jared repeated as his fingers twitched against Jensen's back.

Storm Cloud took a step back then began to walk slowly towards Jensen.

Jared kept his voice low and soft. "When you can reach him, guide him away to the side."

"Away?" The brief burst of joy Jensen had felt when Storm Cloud headed towards him was gone in an instant.

"You didn't invite him," Jared said in the exact same soft and firm voice. "Guide him away."

When Storm Cloud stepped closer, Jensen raised his hand slowly and pushed gently on the stallion's neck to guide him to the side. "G'on you," Jensen said soft and low.

Storm Cloud snorted, and his head lifted slightly before he turned and walked slowly back across the paddock.

"Seems counterproductive," Jensen murmured.

"You gotta trust me if this is gonna work," Jared tilted his head slightly, peered at Jensen from under his eyelashes.

"Fine." Jensen didn't want another lecture and he didn't want those eyes on him any longer than necessary. Something in those eyes made Jensen feel like he was going to tip forwards into them.

"Do you trust me?"

Jensen shrugged a shoulder, then turned to look full on at Jared's face. A little ripple of heat skipped through his body and settled at the base of his spine. "Yeah. Yes."

Jared held Jensen's gaze a few moments too long, then nodded once and looked back at Storm Cloud. "Okay. Stay relaxed. Keep breathing. As soon as he stands still over there, this time you invite him to come to us."

"How?" Jensen was pretty sure there would be a hand sized burn on the small of his back.

"Jensen, you know how to do stuff like this. You're a natural. Just forget about all the other stuff you worry about all day. Focus on him."

Jensen had to admit, that Jared's voice was soothing. Or maybe it was the way his hand was providing enough pressure for Jensen to feel a considerable support from the touch.

As Jensen watched, Storm Cloud paced along the paddock fence then stopped. Without putting much thought into it, Jensen clucked his tongue and held his hand out, palm up, a little above waist level.

Storm Cloud dropped his head and walked towards them. Jensen felt himself smile, felt Jared pat his back once before his hand disappeared.

The stallion paused in front of Jensen then took another step closer and sniffed.

Jensen could feel the stallion's damp breath and the warm velvet of his nose. He snorted and nudged at Jensen's hand.

"Nice," Jared said softly. "Now, send him away again. You chose the direction."

It went on like that for a while. Jared gave Jensen occasional notes about the way Storm Cloud held his head, the way he was standing, even subtle movements of the horse's jaw and lips.

Jensen began to feel like he was understanding and after a few hours, he felt as exhausted as if he'd ridden the entire day. It was a good feeling and a very good beginning.

-=-=-=-

As the days passed, Jensen learned that he needed to establish himself as the _safe_ person. He helped Storm Cloud to trust him, learn to expect him to be the guide. None of it was forced or coerced. Jensen had never felt that they were cruel on the ranch, but he could see how Jared's way created much less tension for everyone. The other plus was that after a week of working with _problem_ horses, Jensen hadn't been knocked down once. _That_ was a definite improvement.

Sometimes, Jensen would look up to see J.D. watching from outside the paddock. He would nod, smile and the next time Jensen would look, his ranch Manager would be gone.

Jared began to work more often with Matt. They were the same age, had the same sense of humor. J.D. once commented that he had found them wrestling beside the creek one afternoon and began referring to the ranch as Brokeback. He seemed pleased that it wasn't Jensen who'd been involved.

J.D.'s protective natures aside, Jensen was a little jealous. Yeah, he wished he had met Jared at a club in Austin, or somewhere like that. But he hadn't. And that was life. Time moved on.

Jensen had lost track of how many lessons he'd had from Jared. There had been a few. It was a Friday and they were with a new horse that J.D. had bought from someone in Nevada. He was from a wild herd and J.D. had promised Jensen more of the story over dinner.

J.D. had named him Bullet. Jensen didn't need to ask why. The horse was faster than hell and had a mean streak. He'd already bitten someone.

It took hours for Jensen to get Bullet to come to him. Hours of standing still, keeping himself relaxed even when the horse reared and postured.

Jared kept his distance, offering scattered words of praise. He leaned against the paddock fence, chin propped on his arms, hat he'd inherited from Matt tipped askew. He was even more tanned after a couple of weeks on the ranch and already seemed to be bulking up a bit. _Not_ that Jensen paid attention to those kinds of things.

Much.

Bullet was finally approaching Jensen when Jared slipped into the ring and pressed up against Jensen's back.

"Now, we're getting in close," he whispered against Jensen's ear.

Jensen swallowed because yeah, he could have figured that out on his own. He could tell by the way he could feel the heat radiating from Jared's chest against his back. A hand settled on Jensen's hip and his spine tingled. _Jesus_. He wasn't a Saint, and he wasn't sure why he needed Jared plastered against him to get further with Bullet.

"Invite him over again and guide him to present his flank." While Jared spoke in an almost-whisper near Jensen's ear, his breath caressed the sweat-damp flesh on Jensen's neck.

It was a little overwhelming. Jensen held out his hand to Bullet and took a few moments to close his eyes and try to re-focus on the task at hand. It wasn't easy.

Jared's breath was hot against Jensen's ear and sent a trail of goosebumps rippling down his arms. He sucked in a long breath.

"Okay," Jared said almost inaudibly. "You know what to do."

Jensen clucked his tongue and moved his hand slowly to invite Bullet to come closer. He steadied himself and made eye contact with the chestnut stallion. He ran over everything in his head, voice low, quiet, stay calm and tell only the truth.

"You come here now," Jensen said softly. "You know I'll take care of you."

Jared's fingers tightened on Jensen's hip and he pressed even closer against Jensen's back. His free arm slipped along Jensen's until his hand curled over Jensen's. He wove their fingers together and guided Jensen's hand up to Bullet's cheek.

The stallion stood where he was, facing Jensen, and Jared lifted their entangled hands to press to the horse's neck and slowly move down.

Heart going off in his chest like a firecracker, Jensen tried to keep his breathing calm and steady. He couldn't believe that in such a short amount of time, he was able to get that close to Bullet. And, Jared. The closeness might just be his way of presenting the two of them to the horse as a united front, but it felt damned good to Jensen.

Very slowly and deliberately, Jensen pushed at Bullet's shoulder to move him to the left a little.

The horse snorted and turned until he was facing away from the two men.

Jared moved their hands back up Bullet's neck then down again, across his shoulder and up into his long mane.

The horse was beautiful. J.D. had chosen well. He was muscular, his coat silky-smooth and gleaming in the sun. He'd be a good horse for someone strong enough to handle him.

Jensen managed to stop short of letting his thoughts drift back to the feel of Jared's body against his. In spite of the adrenaline from the success with the horse and the heat running through his veins because of the way Jared was flush against his back, Jensen was still aware of reality lurking on the horizon.

He spoke softly to Bullet and, as Jared had taught him, watched the horse's ears and the way he stood.

Bullet seemed more relaxed than Jensen which wasn't all that surprising.

"This is perfect. You're going up," Jared said against the shell of Jensen's ear.

"What?" Jensen kept his voice steady even when his heart fluttered against his ribcage.

"Can you mount from the ground?"

"Bareback?" _Jesus Christ_. Jared's plan was clearly, to rattle Jensen completely then send him to his death. "He'll kill me."

Jared's laugh was soft and quiet as their hands continued to move together. "You're fine. When it feels right. Left hand here…" He settled their hands for a few moments at the base of the stallion's mane. "Then up."

Jared withdrew his hand, his fingers trailing along the sleeve of Jensen's shirt. He gave Jensen's hip a squeeze then the press of his body was gone.

Jensen closed his eyes for a few moments. "Bullet? You gotta make me look good okay? It's just you and me now and it would be amazing if I could show off a little."

While he murmured to the stallion, Jensen continued to run his hand down the horse's back, along his leg and back to his neck, just as he'd seen Jared do so many times. After a while, he wasn't even aware of what he was saying. He just moved his hands along with his words and kept his eyes on the horse's face.

He knew when the moment was right, just like Jared had said he would. Bullet was relaxed, his eyes were downcast, and he was leaning into Jensen's touch.

"Now or never, Bullet. Don't let me down," Jensen said. He grabbed a tuft of Bullet's mane with his left hand, stepped back until his arm was fully outstretched then took a deep breath.

Bullet was a tall horse, but Jensen was sure of his body. He bent his left knee, stretched his right leg back then swung it forward as he jumped. He put as much thrust into the jump as he could. His right leg swung over the horse's back and Jensen hauled himself up behind it.

Bullet startled slightly then began to walk around the ring.

There were a few moments of disbelief then Jensen realized he'd done it. He shifted closer to Bullet's shoulders, let go of the mane and rested his hands on his thighs.

When he finally looked up, Jared was sitting on the fence, hat tilted back slightly, a wide grin plastered on his face.

Jensen's heart fluttered again because Jared's grin was the kind of thing that Jensen could get addicted to. Then, something else in Jensen's brain ticked over and Jensen realized he was _actually_ riding Bullet. He'd gotten on the god-damned horse bareback, first try and _damn_ it felt good.

Jensen guided Bullet around the edge of the corral and did a fist pump. "I did it!"

And Bullet snorted, reared slightly and unseated Jensen who landed not _too_ ungracefully on his ass.

Laughter bubbled up in Jensen's chest until he couldn't contain it. He threw his head back and laughed as his ass ached.

"Are you okay?"

Jensen peered p to see the shape of Jared in front of the sun. "I'm good."

"I should have warned you about that."

"I should have figured that out," Jensen said.

Bullet stepped in and nosed at Jensen's hat until he knocked it off. The horse snorted in Jensen's face and Jensen winced. "Gross."

"Horse kisses. I think he might be sorry he bucked you off," Jared said as he held out his hand.

Taking the hand, Jensen let Jared help him up. When he was finally on his feet, he found himself staring up into bright hazel eyes. "I did it."

Nodding, Jared smiled. "You did. It was great."

Bullet shoved at Jensen's shoulder with his nose and he would have stumbled forward if Jared hadn't been there to steady him. He slipped his arm around Jensen's waist as though it was the most natural thing in the world.

Jensen bit down on his bottom lip and fought off the urge to move even closer. It was crazy. It would be too complicated. He didn't even _know_ Jared. It was just the buzz of adrenaline from his success.

Jensen licked his lips and swayed forward regardless of what his brain was trying to tell him.

"Looks like you finally made some progress, Jensen."

Jensen whipped his head towards the sound of Jeff's voice as he stepped back out of Jared's grip. "I did. Took me long enough."

Jeff stayed silent, just staring at Jensen.

Jensen looked around, spotted his hat, and stopped to pick it up. "You saw me?"

Jeff nodded. "I saw enough."

Something in Jensen's chest tightened and he concentrated on brushing the dust off his hat. "Was a good day."

"Jensen did great," Jared said as he held his hand out to Bullet. "Bullet seems to like him more than me."

As if he were trying to prove he was listening, Bullet bypassed Jared and walked over to push his nose against Jensen's shoulder again.

Turning slightly, Jensen reached his arm up slowly and rubbed his palm over the velvet-soft nose.

"Can't say I blame him," Jeff muttered.

It was clearly loud enough for Jared to hear because the smile vanished. "I'm gonna go see if Matt needs any help. You did great today, Jensen. You'll be able to send me on my way sooner rather than later."

For a few seconds too long, Jensen couldn't get his brain to string together a coherent sentence. Then Jared turned and headed away.

Hands on his hips, Jensen watched as Jared climbed over the corral fence, hopped down, and jogged off towards the barn.

Jensen took a deep breath and blew it out through pursed lips. He paced over to where Jeff was still leaning on the top of the corral fence. "Was that really necessary?"

"What?" Jeff rubbed at the salt and pepper stubble along his jawline and frowned.

"You know exactly what. You didn't have to make a remark like that. He's been fitting in pretty well." Jensen settled his hat back onto his head and fixed J.D. with what he hoped was a withering look.

"I don't have to like the kid," J.D. said flatly.

"No, but you don't have to put quite so much effort into being an asshole to him," Jensen answered.

"I just see what's goin' on."

"You see what you _think_ is going on," Jensen said wearily.

"Just watching out for ya," J.D. said. He smiled slightly and lowered his gaze.

Just like that, the wind went out of Jensen's sails and he sighed. He was never able to stay mad at Jeff. It was probably a good thing considering how they drove each other crazy. "Y'know, Jeff. If I didn't know better, I'd think you were jealous."

The hint of a grin returned to J.D.'s lips. "That so? You're not really my type."

Jensen grinned. "You spend an awful lot of time worryin' about my sex life."

J.D. chuckled, the low, rumbling, affectionate sounds that Jensen equated with home. "Jensen, you're way too pretty for me."

Jensen laughed and stepped forward so that he could punch Jeff lightly on the shoulder.

"Maybe if you wore something a little more masculine."

"Oh, fuck off," Jensen said fondly. "I'm goin' in to have a celebratory beer. Coming?"

J.D. nodded. "Lead the way Mr. Horse Whisperer."

After patting Bullet's neck, Jensen climbed over the fence and hopped down. He couldn't see Jared, or Matt for that matter.

J.D. slung his arm over Jensen's shoulders and tugged him into motion again. "Sandpiper is ready to have her foal. Wanna place a bet on when?."

Jensen laughed and shook his head. “No way. Judging by the way things have been going for me lately, that would be a bad idea.”

-=-=-=-

"It's gonna be trickier than I thought to get those horses from Nevada," J.D. said as they headed into the ranch house.

"They all wild?"

"Yeah." J.D. held the door open for Jensen. "That's not the problem. The ranch owner figures he will get the most money if he auctions them off one at a time."

"Did you give him my first offer?" Jensen headed into the kitchen, opened the fridge, and pulled out two beers. He held out a bottle to Jeff.

"I sure did. He figures he can make more at auction. He's worried about losin' his ranch."

Jensen frowned as he felt his anger brewing. "Guy like that doesn't even deserve to be a rancher."

Jensen hadn't been to the ranch himself, but he'd seen Jeff's photos. Some of the horses were in rough shape, underweight, some had old injuries. Jensen wanted to get them all out of there.

"You're right," J.D. said. He twisted the top off the bottle and took a long pull off it. "He has about twenty-five of those horses from what I was _allowed_ to see." 

Jensen set his beer down, so he could hop up onto the counter. "Wouldn't let you see much?"

"Nope. Once I got my phone out and started taking photos, that was it."

"He needs to let those damned horses go." Jensen hated the idea of horses that had been running wild, being locked up in pens and starved half to death. It made his blood boil.

"I can offer him the full amount and see if he'll cave." Jeff didn't look too optimistic.

"He's got no right to even claim ownership of those animals. I should just buy the damned ranch out from under him." Jensen picked up his beer and drained half of it. "As much as it takes, J.D. I don't care. I want those horses, no matter what. If it doesn't work to offer him money, then I'll get Danneel to start working on buying the place out from under him. I won't accept no as an answer from this guy. You hear me?"

The expression on J.D.'s face had changed, and Jensen wondered if he had sounded a little _too_ crazy even for his best friend. Then he noticed Jeff gaze dart over to the door.

When Jensen followed J.D.'s gaze, he found Jared standing in the doorway. His expression was decidedly unimpressed. Doing a quick inventory of what he'd said, Jensen wasn't sure that was responsible. "Didn't hear you come in."

Jared's lips were pressed together into a tight line. He shook his head dismissively.

"What?" Jensen asked. The thrum of adrenaline from his anger was still lingering in his veins. He may sound a little snappy.

"Nothing. Just realizing that all those sources you said were so unreliable were probably right," Jared said.

"Whoa there boy, you didn't hear the entire conversation," J.D. said. He set his beer down on scooted forward to sit on the edge of his seat.

"I wasn't talking to you." Jared bit off every word as though it tasted terrible.

"What the hell?" Jensen asked because he couldn't really think of anything else to say.

"I just stopped by to see if you wanted to meet tomorrow afternoon," Jared said to Jensen. "Matt wants me in the morning."

"I'm sure he does," J.D. muttered under his breath.

"Oh, fuck off. You don't know anything about me-"

"Enough!" Jensen hadn't meant to raise his voice, but he was tired of the friction. He was also tired of the way that Jared continued to assume the worst no matter what.

Jared glared at J.D. for a while, then looked over at Jensen. For a few moments it looked as though he might speak, but then he nodded once at Jensen and left.

"Every time I think we've made progress," Jensen said. He raised his beer bottle towards the empty doorway then took a drink.

"He's got an attitude," J.D. muttered.

The beer Jensen was trying to swallow choked him as he laughed at the same time. When he had finally recovered he shook his head. "And you don’t' have an attitude at all, I suppose."

"Never," J.D. said as he began to chuckle.

Ever since Jared had arrived things had been tense. But Jensen was still hopeful. They'd shared some good moments. Maybe Jensen was just being too optimistic.

"Hey," J.D. said as he stood. "I'm gonna shower then head out to the creek. The boys are BBQing and, for once, they're supplying the beer. Come join us."

Most of the time, Jensen left the ranch hands to their fun. But, he was in the mood to drink. "I'll stop by."

Jensen drained his beer and set the bottle down, so he could slip off the counter. He shoved at Jeff's shoulder playfully as they headed out into the hall.

Jensen was past the door to Jared's room when he figured he would invite him to join them. It couldn't hurt. Hell, it might even be a good idea for J.D. and Jared to try talking _after_ they had a few beers. It could improve things dramatically.

Jensen took a step backward, turned and knocked on Jared's door.

There was silence for a while and then Jensen heard movement and the door clicked open.

Jared looked like he was in the process of changing. He'd already shed his plaid over shirt and was wearing a dirt-smudged white tank top and jeans. It was a pretty good look for him. To distract himself from wanting to wipe some dirt from Jared's cheek, Jensen cleared his throat and pulled his hat off. He held the rim of it and ran his thumb along the smooth edge.

"What's up?"

Jensen looked up from his hat and smiled. He probably drank the beer too quickly because he could feel his head buzzing a little bit. "The boys are having one of their infamous cookouts down by the creek. Want to walk over with me later?"

"No," Jared said firmly. "I'm back to thinking that I'd rather spend time with the horses than some spoiled rich kid."

It confused Jensen at first because he genuinely didn’t' see himself reflected in the insult. When it sunk in, he felt equal parts offended and exhausted. "You know, Jared. You seem like a great guy sometimes, other times you're a judgmental dick." Jensen didn't wait for Jared to figure out an answer. "I'm tired of trying to convince you that I'm not a bad guy."

"You were talking about taking over a man's ranch like it was nothing. How does that make you a good guy, Jensen?" There was fire in Jared's eyes and he squared his shoulders.

Just like that, all the fight went out of Jensen. It really wasn't worth all the aggravation. As soon as Jensen explained one thing, Jared found something else to fret about. It seemed to be a never-ending cycle. "Jared, you clearly didn't eavesdrop on the entire conversation of you'd know that you were wrong."

"Then explain it to me," Jared said without taking his eyes off Jensen.

Jensen considered it, then he realized it wouldn't matter because Jared would find something else to complain about. Jensen shook his head slowly. "You know what, Jared? I'm done. I'm not putting any more energy into defending myself when I know that you're wrong."

Jared's expression softened slightly, and he shifted his weight. "Jensen-"

Jensen held up his hand to interrupt Jensen. "Go for a beer if you want, I'm sure you know where the creek is. I really wanted to get to know you, Jared. But I get it. You don't want to get to know me. Night."

Not giving Jared any time to say anything, Jensen turned quickly and headed down the hall.

Yeah, he was retreating. And no, he wouldn't be going to the party. He really didn't want to spend the night dodging knowing looks from J.D. and glares from Jared. It was probably a much better night to go for a ride alone.

-=-=-=-

Technically turned out to be _not_ such a great night for a ride. By the time Jensen was over a mile from the ranch house, it was pouring. The sudden downpour meant that the ranch hands party would have moved inside, and Jensen was doubly glad he wasn't there. He wasn't, however, particularly thrilled to be out on Liberty in the rain.

The horse didn't seem to mind much. He was a bit skittish about the thunder that rumbled every so often, but he trusted Jensen.

Just when he was about to turn and head back to the ranch house, Jensen thought he heard a horse neighing. Liberty _clearly_ heard something. He tossed his mane, snorted, and tried to get the bit between his teeth.

Jensen leaned down and squinted to try and find what had the horse's attention. "Okay, pal. I can't see a damn thing, but you seem to have a destination in mind." As he spoke, Jensen let the reins relaxed and sat back slightly in the saddle.

The rain picked up and after a few minutes of riding towards the fence, Jensen turned the collar up on his jacket. The raindrops were stinging his cheeks and he was starting to shiver. He held the reins in one hand while he reached down into the saddlebag and pulled out a flashlight.

"Jesus," Jensen muttered as the flashlight lit up the downpour. He could make out the fence and kept the light beam aimed at it as Liberty walked on.

There was another neigh. This time, Jensen heard it clearly. He swept the light across the ground in front of them and stopped when he saw hooves in the muddy ground. He trailed the light up the horse's leg and finally recognized Sandpiper. At her feet was a tiny bundle of chestnut hair. He newborn foal was lying there, tiny legs splayed out, hair soaked through.

"Fuck," Jensen muttered as he slid down off Liberty. "Why here, girl?"

The muddy ground squelched under his boots, and Jensen almost fell as he headed towards Sandpiper.

The horse tossed her head then nosed at her foal, but it remained motionless.

Without even thinking, Jensen dropped down onto his knees in the mud and pulled the tiny foal into his arms. He had trouble keeping hold of it, it was drenched and slippery. She had to have just given birth.

The foal was freezing and when Jensen finally got it near his face, he could feel that it was barely breathing.

"Shit." Jensen struggled to get his jacket open and pulled the tiny creature against his chest to try and warm it up. He rubbed its side hard with one hand while making sure the nose and mouth were clear with the other.

The flashlight rolled off to the side and Jensen swore again under his breath. He struggled to get one leg out from under him and kicked at the flashlight, but it just spun wildly in the mud.

The foal moved slightly against Jensen's chest and he rubbed its side a little more gently. "Come on, little one. You sure picked a bad place to be born."

Jensen wiped his face on his shoulder pointlessly and tried to blink some of the rain out of his eyes. He was soaked through and beginning to shiver.

"Gotta get you home." He checked over his shoulder and saw that Liberty was still there. He just had to get himself and the foal up into the saddle and then when they headed back to the barn Sandpiper would follow. He was sure of it.

Another crack of thunder made Sandpiper rear slightly. A bright flash of lightning nearly blinded Jensen and he was sure it must have struck something close to them.

The first time he tried to get up, the weight of the foal was too much, unbalanced, and his boot slipped on the mud. He landed on his side and lay there panting for a few moments before trying again. He planted one foot on the ground and made sure he was stable before he tried to get up again.

There was another flash of lightning and Jensen thought he could see something moving off in the darkness.

"Jensen!?"

"Over here!" Jensen wiped his face against his shoulder again and tried to clear his vision.

Another flashlight sliced through the darkness and lit up all the rain. Finally, Jared appeared and took a knee at Jensen's side. "What the _hell_ are you doing out here?"

"I was out for a ride-"

"- in a storm?"

"It wasn't storming when I left. I found Sandpiper. I think she just had the foal."

Jared ran his hand over the foal's side. "Is it okay?"

"Pretty cold. Wasn't in good shape when I got here." Jensen shifted the foal in his arms and Jared helped him up to his feet.

"I've got a blanket." Jared disappeared again then returned with a saddle blanket.

Between the two of them, they managed to get the foal wrapped up tightly in the blanket. Jensen handed the foal over, retrieved his flashlight and grabbed Liberty's reigns. "Hand her to me?"

"Him," Jared said loud enough to be heard over the storm.

For a few seconds, Jensen couldn't help smiling. He wasn't sure when Jared had found the time to check on the sex of the horse, but it struck him as something Jared would do. He wiped more rain off his face and flexed both his hands to try and get some warmth back into them. "In a second, I'll saddle up. Can you hand him up?"

Jared nodded, and Jensen noticed that he too was soaked. Of course, he was. His cheeks were ruddy, and his hat was doing very little to keep the rain off his face. He had the colt cradled in his arms, its tiny nose was pressed to his neck. Jensen reached out and brushed aside some of the damp strands of hair that were plastered across Jared's eyes.

Jared blinked a few times as a gust of rain pelted them both with stinging drops then he smiled slightly. "You look frozen, get movin'."

Another gust of wind started Jensen moving. He flipped the reins over the saddle and hopped up into the saddle. He tried to pull his jacket closed and gave up when he realized his fingers were too cold to even work the zipper.

Jared lifted the tiny colt up so that Jensen could drape him across his knees. One of his thin limbs poked out of the blanket and Jared leaned on Jensen's thigh as he leaned up to tuck it in.

"Should I throw a rope on Sandpiper?" Jared asked and for a moment Jensen found himself wondering why Jared was suddenly deferring to him.

Another gust of cold wind and biting rain reminded Jensen how little it mattered. "She'll come with us. She's just worried about this little guy."

Jared nodded and climbed back up onto his horse… Matt's horse, Wind, if Jensen wasn't mistaken.

Squeezing his thighs gently, Jensen urged Liberty forwards. The little colt shifted against Jensen's arm as he took a quick glance over his shoulder to see Sandpiper following along.

-=-=-=-


	3. Chapter 3

The ride to the barn seemed to take hours, and by the time they were finally through the doors, Jensen's teeth were beginning to chatter. He clenched them together and headed into Sandpiper's stall.

Jared led Liberty and Wind away to get them settled.

The colt blinked up at Jensen as he unwrapped him from the saddle blanket. "You're gonna be good, Buddy. You just need to get warmed up. Your mama is a pretty good horse, but it seems she's not the best at choosing locations to give birth."

Almost as though she could understand him, Sandpiper pushed at Jensen's shoulder so hard she knocked his hat off. "Hey!"

Jensen smiled and shifted to the side so that Sandpiper could sniff the colt's head. Her long tongue dragged over his tiny nose to clean him and he snorted.

"She's just bein' a mama," Jensen said. He tossed the blanket aside and then struggled out of his jacket. It was heavy with the rainwater it had soaked up and thumped onto the hay behind him.

He grabbed a handful of hay and rubbed it over the tiny colt. Even as he tried to clean him up, the colt made a failed attempt to get to his feet. He only managed to crawl forward enough to rest his head on Jensen's thigh. "That's the spirit."

_Spirit._

The world could be kind of a shitty place, but Jensen would never get over being thrilled to see such a new life. It was one of the many beautiful things it was all too easy to lose track of in the mountains of business crap.

There were footsteps behind Jensen and then a warm, dry, jacket was draped over his shoulders. He glanced up to see Jared standing behind him. "Thanks."

"You look frozen. You should head inside and have a hot shower."

"Nah." Jensen shook his head. "I'm gonna stay here with Sprit for a while. Make sure he gets on his feet."

"Spirit?" Jared knelt down beside Jensen and smoothed a hand over the colt's neck.

"He didn't give up," Jensen said as he traced the splash of white on the colt's nose with his finger. "He's got spirit."

"I like it."

They were quiet for a while, then Sandpiper laid down behind them.

"Can you wake up Matt? Have him come out and check them both out?"

"Sure." Jared squeezed Jensen's shoulder, patted the colt gently and got to his feet. "I'll get him then come back and brush Liberty and Wind down."

"Okay, thanks." For some reason, Jensen was determined to stay at least until Spirit was on his feet.

"you can come and wake me later if you want me to sit with them." Jared was lingering by the door to the stall.

"Thanks. You get some rest." Jensen smiled and shifted so he could lean back against the wall. "I'll feel better once Matt sees them."

"Alright," Jared said. He stayed near the door long enough to watch Spirit try to stand again but the next time Jensen looked up, Jared was gone.

-=-=-=-

When Jensen woke up, he was confused. He was hot, uncomfortable, and staring into a pair of huge black eyes.

Spirit blinked, then sneezed and sprayed a mixture of fluids over Jensen's face. "Jesus."

As Jensen struggled to free his arm from under the blanket he was somehow wrapped in, he heard someone chuckling.

Rubbing his eyes, Jensen glanced across the stall to see Jared combing Sandpiper.

" _That_ was disgusting," Jensen muttered. His throat ached, and he picked a piece of hay off his neck.

Jared tipped his chin towards the front of the stall. "Water. Thermos of coffee."

" _God_ , you're a lifesaver."

Jensen half-rolled, half-crawled to the thermos and quickly poured himself a coffee. "What times is it?"

"About six. Matt said you were asleep when he left."

"He left me here," Jensen grumbled. Not that he really minded.

Grinning, Jared hung the comb up and patted Sandpiper. "You were out of it. Matt made sure Sandpiper passed the placenta. I cleaned out the stall and everything and you were out cold. You looked comfortable and Spirit certainly was." Jared walked over and crouched down beside Jensen. "He slept on you."

Jensen watched as Spirit tottered around the stall like he was drunk. "he's great, I mean. He looks healthy." A warm blush moved over Jensen's cheeks.

"He is. Matt thinks he'll be fine. Just needs to put on some weight." Jared sat down on his ass and rested his outstretched arms on his bent knees. "Good thing you found him. What were you doing out there anyway?"

It felt like it happened about a hundred years ago. "When I need things… when… I ride when I just what to think, or _not_ think."

"Listen," Jared began.

"No, it's okay. I don't wanna hash over it all again," Jensen said quickly. He was too tired to get into anything with Jared. He could tell a lost cause when he ran into one."

"Jensen-"

Jensen held up his hand and smiled sadly. "While I was out there last night I think I decided somethin'. I didn't even know I was thinking about."

Furrows settled into Jared's brow, but he let Jensen speak.

Jensen rubbed at his face and realized there was dried mud on his cheek. "I think you should go. This was a stupid idea. I have stupid ideas sometimes. Don't worry about the money. I won't press charges. I don't want to keep feeling like this."

When Jensen was silent for a while, Jared sighed. "Feeling like what?"

Running a hand back and forth over his head, Jensen shrugged and set the thermos cup down. He chose his words carefully. "I don't want to keep feeling like, no matter what happens, you're always going to think the worst of me. I _know_ I'm not perfect. I know that better than anyone. I've made mistakes and I'm pretty fucking sure that I'm gonna make about a million more. But, I grew up thinking that I wasn't _enough_ or _okay_ , and I don't like being around that."

Nodding, Jared looked down at his hands. "J.D. came and … I was gonna say he talked to me, but I feel like it was more of a lecture. or maybe a threatening session."

Jensen shrugged. He was kind of okay with J.D. reading Jared the riot act.

"Anyway. You're right," Jared said.

"I am?" Jensen hadn't expected that answer.

"When I got here, I was _stealing_ from you because I was being a self-righteous asshole. I'm sorry. And the really shitty thing-" Jared paused, cleared his throat and blinked a few times. "The really shitty thing is that I'm only just figuring out what I might have lost out on."

Jensen's eyes widened slowly as he stared at Jared. Again, not what he had expected. But, it was probably one of those times when Jensen should stay quiet, not that he could actually come up with anything to say.

After more time staring into those multi-colored eyes, Jensen smiled slightly and averted his gaze. "I should probably-"

When Jared's mouth initially found Jensen's, an unfamiliar rush of warmth swept down Jensen's body. It took his brain a few moments to catch up with what was going on.

Jared made a soft sound, quiet, but the kind of sound that made Jensen's heart flutter.

Jensen's lips parted slightly. Maybe he was going to protest, maybe he was going to just try to gulp in some air to try and dilute the intensity of the moment.

 _Maybe_. 

Maybe he liked the feel of Jared's lips against his. Maybe just that slight touch conveyed more than Jensen expected, more than he was used to, more than he deserved.

The contact probably only lasted seconds, then they were just sitting there. Jared was leaned over to one side, so close he had to be breathing in the air that Jensen exhaled.

The intimacy of the closeness took Jensen's breath away. He leaned back slowly, almost scared to shatter whatever mystery held the moment together.

Jared's eyes were closed for a few more heartbeats, then he too leaned back. When he opened his eyes there was a dark intensity to them that Jensen was sure he'd never seen before.

The silence went on too long and Jensen was thankful when Spirit tottered over to him and leaned into his chest.

Jared sniffed, rubbed his hands on his thighs then stood. "You gonna keep him?"

Finally able to smile, Jensen slid his arm around the tiny colt's neck. "Wouldn't give him up for the world."

When Jensen looked up, he could see that Jared's eyes were glassy, his cheeks ruddy. "Good. He's a tough little guy."

Jensen nodded and leaned forward to bury his nose in Spirit's sparse mane. He smelled good. When he looked up, Jared was gone.

-=-=-=-

Events caught up with Jensen and he crashed early in the evening. His bed felt softer than ever when he had collapsed onto it, and he'd fallen asleep almost immediately.

When he cracked his eyes open because of the morning sun, he felt like he'd just gone to bed.

"I'm getting too old for sleeping in barns," he muttered as he climbed out of bed.

The clock on the nightstand said 6:05 am so Jensen groaned and stumbled towards the shower. He was halfway there when he remembered that Jared was gone.

It felt worse than it should. It _felt_ as though there was an emptiness in Jensen's chest, something that wasn't there before. But, why? That was the question. Jared hadn't even been a _presence_ in Jensen's life.

All in all, they'd spent days together and half of that time had been comprised of Jared hating Jensen.

But the kiss. It had blindsided Jensen. Oh, he had thought about kissing Jared; he'd thought about doing a hell of a lot more than that. Jensen just hadn't expected Jared to act on it.

And, why act on it right after Jensen had told him to leave?

Jensen sighed, rubbed at his aching eyes then opened the bathroom door. He needed to get out of his head and into his shower.

-=-=-=-

Showered, dressed in clean clothes and dry boots, Jensen felt a hell of a lot better. He grabbed a coffee from the kitchen and headed out to find J.D.

It never took him too long to find his friend. Usually, J.D. was wherever there was the most activity.

As Jensen walked out to the barn, he could see Matt and J.D. standing with some of the other ranch hands at one of the training corrals.

Jensen sauntered over to the corral and leaned on the fence beside J.D. His eyes widened as he looked over the fence at the man working with one of the new horses. "J.D.?"

"Yup." J.D. kept his eyes on the man in the corral.

"That's Jared," Jensen said. He was a little confused. Obviously, he hadn't been explicit enough when telling Jared he should leave. "I told him-"

"-that he should leave. That you wouldn't press charges, that he made you feel shitty." J.D. didn't even blink, nor did he look at Jensen. He just kept watching as Jared worked with the horse.

Jensen frowned. "I wouldn’t have put it that way, but that's mostly right."

"Yup." J.D. leaned his chin on his hands and his gaze followed Jared around the corral.

"What the fuck?" Jensen took a step back, noticed that a couple of the ranch hands were glancing his way. He stepped back in and lowered his voice. "Why is he still here?"

Matt leaned forward so he could see Jensen. "He moved into the ranch hand's cabin. Took one of the empty rooms. Says he's not going anywhere until you-"

"What the hell."

J.D. finally turned to look at Jensen. "Matt's right. Jared isn't goin' anywhere. He seems to think he wants to _get to know you._ "

"Get to _know_ me?" Jensen's brain hurt. He just wanted things to go back to normal and that didn't seem to be how everything was going.

"Right? Crazy." J.D. smirked. "You're kind of a pain in the ass so I'm not sure why he's interested.

"Jeff." There was a tone in Jensen's voice he wasn't particularly proud of, but he was quickly losing patience… with everyone.

Rubbing at his beard, Jeff shrugged. "He signed onto the regular crew. Matt's payin' him same as the others. Jared says he'll still train horses for us and train us too, _if_ we want it."

Jensen could feel his temper beginning to bubble over. "Does anyone care what I want? I thought this was _my_ ranch."

"Jensen-" J.D. looked a little exasperated.

"I told him to go." Jensen climbed up onto the fence and jumped down inside the corral. As he marched out into the middle he could hear Jeff calling his name.

Jared was working with a silver and grey horse Jensen didn't remember seeing before. "Padalecki!"

Jared glanced over his shoulder then stiffened. When he saw Jensen, he looked as though he was steeling himself for an argument.

That was okay, because Jensen had a whole lot of argument cued up and ready to go, and Jared seemed like the best target. "Why are you here?"

The silver horse reared slightly and galloped across the corral. Jared held his hands up in surrender. "Just hear me out."

"Really?" Jensen could feel eyes on him and he made a conscious effort to lower his voice. "I said you could go. I'm over all the... the theft. Whatever, you need to go."

"I don't want to," Jared said as he lowered his hands.

"Why not?" Exasperated, Jensen took his hat off. He needed something to do with his hands.

"I can't explain it."

"Then get off my ranch," Jensen snapped. With everyone watching, he didn't want to start a big scene, but he really wanted Jared gone. It would be easier on so many different levels.

"Jensen. For fuck sakes let me talk." Jared paced forward so quickly that Jensen took a step back to avoid the fight he was sure he was about to be engaged in.

When Jared was _right_ in front of Jensen, he stopped dead in his tracks. "Jensen, you were right. I wasn't getting to know you. But, then I had all this other crap on my mind. I was a dick."

"I know," Jensen answered before he really thought about it.

Jared smiled slightly.

Jensen felt his insides melt a little and looked down at his hat. He had no idea why that smile made him feel like someone had set off a bomb in his chest. "You can go. No harm, no foul. Talk to Matt, he'll tell you I don't go back on my word. You seem to trust him."

Jared's finger hooked under the sleeve of Jensen's button down. It was the strangest thing. Jensen couldn't remember anyone having done that before, but he felt anchored there, tethered to Jared by the one small link.

"I don't want to go," Jared said. "Let me start over. I just. I can't even find the right thing to say, but I like you."

That made Jensen look up. "You think I'm a… what did you call me? A spoiled rich kid?" Jensen wanted to step away, he really did but that damn finger felt like a dead weight on his arm.

"I did. And I'm sorry. I was wrong," Jared said in such an earnest tone that Jensen looked up again. "I apologize, Jensen."

"Okay." Jensen hated the way that looking into Jared's eyes made him feel the creep of warmth on the back of his neck.

"There's something about you. I swear. If I saw you across some nightclub you would stand out. It's not the way you look-"

Jensen's eyebrows arched slightly as he tried to decipher whether or not that was a compliment.  
"Don't get me wrong," Jared said quickly. His finger let go of Jensen's shirt sleeve and _very_ slowly he wrapped his hand around Jensen's wrist. Jared was close enough that Jensen could smell the scent of Jared's hair. "You are gorgeous."

Averting his gaze again, Jensen could feel a blush crawling up onto his cheeks. He wasn't going to tell Jared he felt the same way.

"And, you have amazing eyes. That's one of the things I noticed first. Well, after you stopped pointing your rifle at me." Jared seemed to be holding back a smile. His nose twitched, and he pressed his lips together.

Jensen's pulse was thumping away under the grip Jared had on his wrist. "Jared, I don't. I don't think it's a good idea to. I don't see people who work for me."

Jared shifted closer. If Jensen hadn't noticed him moving, he might have missed it. Sneaky bastard. On the other hand, Jensen had no idea why he didn't step back.

"Technically," Jared said, "I work for J.D. now. It was him who signed me back on."

That wasn't what Jensen meant and he was sure that they _both_ knew that. There might never have been a time in the past when Jensen had wished he could be _that_ guy. "It's – I just don't, Jared."

"I know," Jared said. His voice was low and quiet. "You go to Austin and pick up guys when you want some fun."

 _Wow._ Back to that so quickly. "Back to me being a spoiled, rich guy?"

"No." Jared's fingers tightened on Jensen's wrist. "I just think that makes you sad. Means you're gonna miss out on some good people."

"Like you?"

Shrugging a shoulder, Jared smiled a little. "Maybe, like me."

There were years of reasons that Jensen didn't want to see someone for more than a night. It was deep water with shitty visibility and Jensen didn't think he should subject anyone to that. "I can't, Jared."

"Yeah. You can. I'm worth it." There was a quirky little smile on Jared's lips.

The fucker probably was worth it. But still, Jensen tossed his hat back onto his head and looked down at the grip Jared still had on his wrist. There were a thousand and one reasons not to get entangled with a man like Jared. "Jared."

"Just give me a chance. What will that hurt?" Jared closed the distance between then without waiting for an invitation. His lips brushed along Jensen's cheek and he whispered, "Take a chance."

The shiver that ran down Jensen's body felt strong enough to register on the Richter scale. "Jared."

Somehow, Jared's hand was no longer holding his wrist, it was settled on his hip just like it was the most natural thing in the world. Just like there weren't a bunch of ranch hands standing around the corral watching everything unfold. Not at all like the reality that they hardly knew each other, that their lives weren't complicated as fuck. At least, Jensen's was. Okay, his past was whatever it was. He wasn't sure why he was still thinking about it all.

As Jared exhaled warm breath that danced down Jensen's neck, he managed to slip a finger under Jensen's shirt. The heat of the touch startled Jensen. Without even thinking, his hand snapped up to grip Jared's bicep.

Jared flinched back slightly then frowned. Their eyes locked and Jensen felt like his guts were burning. _Jesus_.

Without another word, Jared crushed his mouth against Jensen's. His free hand curled around the back of Jensen's neck, knocking his hat off again.

Jared tasted sweet, kind of like spring grass, his lips were as soft as his mouth was insistent and Jensen felt his muscles melt in the heat of it.

The fingers on Jensen's hip dug in and the grip was so hard it almost hurt. Jensen gave in to the sensation of _want_ that slammed into him and slid his hand up Jared's arm, across his shoulder and into his unruly hair.

Why hadn't he done that before?

Jared seemed to _fold_ himself closer, tongue teasing its way past Jensen's lips. His hand rubbed over Jensen's skin, over his ribs, rucking his shirt up.

Breathing got a little difficult for Jensen when Jared's teeth scraped over his bottom lip. He could feel himself trembling as Jared slowly pulled back from the kiss.

A smattering of applause broke out in the distance and Jensen felt the burn of a blush creep up the back of his neck. He turned his head slightly and yelled, "Fuck off!"

The only response was quiet laughter that faded away as the small crowd dispersed.

"So, is that a yes to giving it a try?" There was a stupidly hopeful look on Jared's face that made Jensen feel like he was back in high school all over again.

"No," Jensen said quickly. He realized he was still moving his fingers in Jared's hair and yanked his hand back quickly.

_Too close._

Jared was still standing too close because Jensen could still feel the heat of him, the solid _mass_ of his presence. And there was always that death-grip that Jared had on his hip.

Shifting his body slightly, Jensen tried to shake off Jared's hand.

"That didn't feel like no," Jared said. He resisted losing his grip on Jensen for a few moments, then his hand fell back to his side.

"There's a lot you don't know about me," Jensen blurted out. _Hell,_ there was a lot that he didn't know about himself.

"I apologized for that."

" _Not_ what I mean."

"Then tell me why."

When Jensen met Jared's gaze again, he could feel his heart trying to slog its way through the thick muddied confusion of his thoughts and feelings. "I don't know if I can."

"Can what?" Furrows appeared across Jared's brow, but he didn't look away for a moment.

"Can. I don't know if I know what a… relationship is supposed to be like," Jensen said quietly. He could still see the fear in his mother's face when his father had flown at her in a rage. He could still feel the slice of pain in his heart when childhood friend's father had hugged Jensen. There were so many moments like that, big and small, that were stiff and unmoving scar tissue in Jensen's past.

"It's not _supposed_ to be anything," Jared said easily. "It just is what it is. _But_ , you gotta let it happen." The smile on Jared's face was somewhere between hopeful and sad.

"You sound like a romance novel," Jensen answered. He shook his head fondly and closed his eyes for a few moments.

Jared chuckled. " _The Billionaire and the Bandit_ ," he said. "I'd read the hell out of that."

"Idiot," Jensen said fondly.

 _Fondly._ He felt … _fondly_ towards Jared. What the hell was happening?

"So, yeah?"

Jensen's eyes widened slowly as he took in the glow on Jared's cheeks, the glint of late-afternoon sun in his hazel eyes.

Jensen cleared his throat. "I didn't say that."

"That's not a no."

It wasn't a no.

It _wasn't_ a no.

Wow.

"I'm not a billionaire," Jensen finally said because the ret o the shit that was spinning around in his mind made even less sense.

"I'm more of a _thief_ than a _bandit_ ," Jared answered with a smile that punched dimples onto his cheeks. "Still, it sounds good."

Jensen nodded almost imperceptibly.

"How about this?" Jared said. After a lingering look into Jensen's eyes, Jared sidestepped and bent to retrieve Jensen's hat. He brushed the dust off it. "You let me work here, I'll stay at the ranch house. You give me a chance."

It didn't seem like the offer had changed much, but every time Jensen heard it, it felt a little closer to possible and further away from ridiculous.

Jensen reached out for his hat and let his index finger slide across Jared's as he passed it over. "You're one of those people who keeps saying the same thing over and over until people are fooled into thinking you've compromised."

"There's the billionaire business tycoon."

"You're mocking me, aren't ya."

Jared shook his head. "I'm takin' a chance that you're not all those things I read you were. You're takin' a chance that I'm gonna get to know you instead of believing all the rumors. It's a win-win."

"Sure," Jensen agreed before he really thought about it. The smile on Jared's face was wearing him down, rubbing all the rough edges off his stubbornness. It was kind of annoying and endearing at the same time.

"Yes?" The way Jared's expression brightened made Jensen's heart thump a little faster. His hazel eyes were wide, his bottom lip caught under his teeth.

 _Adorable._ Hell.

Jared hooked his index finger through Jensen's. "So. It's a sequel then. _The Rancher and the Horse Whisperer_."

In spite of the warmth that was welling up in Jensen's chest, he rolled his eyes. "Pretentious."

Jared began walking towards the corral gate and tugged Jensen along. " _The Business Tycoon and the Free Spirit._ "

"Now you're being offensive," Jensen said even though the grin on his face made it pretty clear that wasn't actually the case.

He really had no idea how things were going to work out, but, right then, he felt a lot like it didn't matter. It was weird.

It was weird and maybe a little wonderful.

Terrifying too.

"How about _Fear and Loathing_ ," Jensen asked as he opened the gate.

Laughing, Jared bumped their shoulders together. "As accurate as that may be? I think it's taken.”


End file.
